ROCKFORD — Murder suspect Antwan T. Maxey, 28, remains behind bars despite a judge’s order to drop all charges after his right to a speedy trial was violated.

Judge Ronald White on Jan. 20 dismissed Maxey’s case and ruled Winnebago County prosecutors hadn’t brought Maxey to trial fast enough in connection with the Jan. 22, 2011, murder of 25-year-old Charles Spivey. Maxey was held in prison nearly a year on a parole violation and when he was about to be released, new charges were filed.

In court Friday, Maxey’s public defender, Nick Zimmerman, told Judge Patrick Heaslip that prosecutors are doing everything in their power to keep Maxey in custody despite the judge’s ruling. Zimmerman argued that prosecutors are asking Heaslip to raise his $500,000 bond to a higher amount under the pretense of new charges of fleeing from police dating back to his original 2011 arrest.

Zimmerman said the $500,000 bond was “aggressive” and “excessive” given the charge. Heaslip rejected both the prosecution’s request to increase it and Zimmerman’s request to lower it.

But it’s Spivey’s family who are being victimized, said Elizabeth Spivey, Charles Spivey’s aunt. First, the Spivey family was victimized by the loss of Charles Spivey to gun violence. And then it was victimized by a justice system threatening to release one of the three men accused of his murder without so much as a trial, she said.

Charles Spivey was killed at what started as a house party but ended in terror and bloodshed as gunfire erupted and attendees ran for their lives.

Maxey, Clifford Horton, 24, and Lamont A. Cole, 28, all of Rockford and alleged members of the Moe Street Gang, were eventually arrested and charged with Spivey’s death and in connection with shooting four others at the party.

Horton and Cole have entered not guilty pleas.

Spivey’s family members, including his aunt, sisters and mother, attend every hearing and court appearance.

The tragedy has taken a toll on their emotional and physical health, Elizabeth Spivey said.

Brian Spivey, Charles Spivey’s cousin, was shot in the leg and will walk with a limp the rest of his life, she said. A young sister suffered a stroke that is believed to have been caused by the stress of Spivey’s death and the surrounding legal process.

Although Elizabeth Spivey said prosecutors dropped the ball by not bringing Maxey to trial fast enough in the first place, they have also allowed Cole’s bench trial to drag on for months without a resolution and Clifford Horton’s trial has not yet begun.

She said the family is happy prosecutors are fighting to keep Maxey in jail while a higher court considers an appeal.

Jan. 22: Police called to chaotic scene in which dozens of people run for their lives after shots were fired during a house party in the 2000 block of Sherman Avenue. Charles Spivey, 25, is found dead of a gunshot wound to the head behind the wheel of a van in which he tried to escape, four others, including a cousin, suffer gunshot wounds.

May: Witness testimony before a grand jury leads to warrants for the arrest of Antwan T. Maxey, Lamont A. Cole and Clifford Horton, all of Rockford, for the murder of Charles Spivey among other charges.

May 31: Police attempt to take Maxey into custody. He drives at a high rate of speed and crashes into another vehicle trying to escape.

June 2011: Cole, 27, arrested.

Aug. 2: Horton, 23, arrested after police find him in Springfield.

Aug. 19: Maxey arrested in Machesney Park by Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Marshal Service agents. Maxey immediately asserts his rights to a speedy trial.

2012

Jan. 20: Judge Ronald White drops charges against Maxey, ruling the state has not brought him to trial before a 120-day deadline. Maxey is transferred to state prison on a parole violation.

Nov. 4: Maxey scheduled for release from state custody, but prosecutors file new charges that weren’t part of his original arrest, keeping Maxey in custody. They now charge Maxey with aggravated fleeing to elude.

Friday: Judge Patrick Heaslip rejects both the prosecution’s motion to increase a $500,000 bond and defense’s request to decrease it. Cole’s trial could resume in December and Horton continues to await trial.